Bolivia chooses Chinese company Catl to help develop lithium deposit

• Chinese company Catl, won the bidding process to develop lithium reserves.
• Bolivia has enormous reserves in the Potosi and Oruro salt flats.
• Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile share a stretch of salt that contains more than 75% of the world’s lithium deposits.

Catl, a massive Chinese battery company, has won a bidding process to develop Bolivia‘s massive lithium reserves.

The ultra-light metal is used in EV batteries, the production of which is expected to skyrocket as fossil fuels are phased out.

Bolivian President Luis Arce stated that the Catl-led consortium was launching the “historic” industrialization of lithium in Bolivia.

The first phase of the project will cost more than $1 billion (£807 million), according to him.

The world’s largest lithium producers are Australia and Chile, but Bolivia has enormous reserves in the Potosi and Oruro salt flats.

Technical challenges and a lack of infrastructure have long stymied lithium extraction in Bolivia, where reserves are estimated to be 21 million tonnes.

Mr. Arce stated that Bolivia was still in talks with other foreign companies about potential partnerships. According to sources, they include the US firm Lilac Solutions, Russia’s Uranium One Group, and three other Chinese bidders.

Mr. Arce stated that the company’s goal was to begin exporting lithium batteries in the first quarter of 2025.

Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile share a stretch of salt flats known as the “lithium triangle,” which contains more than 75% of the world’s lithium deposits.

Brine is pumped from beneath the salt flats into vast evaporation pools, resulting in the formation of lithium carbonate. However, the technical challenges of lithium mining have raised concerns in South America and other parts of the world about pollution and commercial viability.

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